DeeJay Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 Hi Folks! I know this is not a hardware forum, but I thought there might be some experts here who maybe could have a clue on the following problem: I had and still have a 1TB HDD with 3 partitions, of which 1 is the Windows 7 partition. It all runs fine. However I cannot install any other SATA device into this PC! For example: I got a DVD drive which was detected and ran perfectly, but a few days later my system didn't detect it anymore. Same thing with my new SSD drive: I just finally switched to P3D2 which I installed at the new SSD, and while installing OpenLC it suddenly didn't detect my SSD anymore! Since that point it never came back again. And the DVD drive is only detected from time to time. Now what puzzles me so much (and what makes me incledibly angry meanwhile) is that this problem exists for years - again and again! And no one seems to have a clue what it REALLY is. During this time I changed ALL of my PC components: New power supply unit, new mainboard, new CPU, new HDD, new SSD, new graphic card, new RAM, new PC case, ...I even changed the house where the PC is located! And still this Problem exists! I took the PC to the shop where I bought the mainboard, the HDD and the CPU, and they couldn't find anything either so far even after testing a lot of things. The big problem is: If I install any new components, it works fine first. But only a few days later the problem crops up again! Last thing I did was replacing the graphic card (GTS 450 to GTX 970). After that it seemed that all problem were solved. But today, it's there again! In BIOS the SATA drives are activated. Switching the power supply cables at the single components didn't help either. There is no wawrning or error message in any way. It just doesn't detect any SATA component other than the "old" HDD, at least not reliably. Any ideas? I'm really short from throwing my whole PC with all the thousands of Euros for FS addons, hardware components and thousands of hours of work out the window.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSandleben Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 Quite a puzzle there. I guess the only thing that you kept during all this replacing was the motherboard? Might want to exchange that as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeJay Posted March 15, 2015 Author Share Posted March 15, 2015 No, unfortunately the motherboard is new, too. Also had the problem with the previous motherboard from time to time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
electricman Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 No loose connectors? make sure they are connected real tight, a slight movement can already cause this problem. Herman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lawrence aldrich Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 Have you checked for bios updates that may be needed for your MB ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick66 Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 Dom i hope your SSD is not a Samsung Pro and you`ve updated the firmware co`s it will brick your system, i`ve just RMA my one after the same thing happened 10 days ago. Rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chumley Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 I have an OCZ SSD on which the OS is installed. Periodically on booting I will get a message that there is a corrupt boot file or it cannot be found (or something to that effect). To correct the problem I simply disconnect the drive and firmly reconnect it making sure everything is seated and up till now that has worked. When I first got the drive I loaded some files and soon after it stopped working. No matter what I did I couldn't get the thing to stay connected. It was RMA and replaced as it was faulty. This may be your problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest M31 Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 Firstly, Chumley and Rick there where some well documented problems with OCZ SSD's and recent Samsung 840's, not all the drives under the Samsung SSD banner, my Samsing 850 is fine, even my 1TB 840 is fine after the initial fix, it does not effect them all, bad karma I know though for those wanting to switch to SSD's, these company's have a lot to answer for and as I understand OCZ are practically bankrupt because of it, does it mean the end of SSD's ... of course not. Please lets not go on tangents, diagnosing PC problems on forums is always difficult without lots of wild or not so wild idea's thrown in too. But onto the OP's question. It seems to me nobody has asked if he has installed all the latest chipset drivers for his motherboard not to mention the latest ones that rarely ship with a motherboard on the CD, the SATA ones these days are very important, make sure you are hooked up to Intel or Asmedia or whatever for SATA (I'd use the Intel ports) and have appropriate drivers for each or whatever you choose and that everything is configured in the BIOS properly ... if in doubt, dont hesitate to ask, getting an up to date BIOS version can be important too, but rarely this can cause more problems than its worth, if a motherboard ships it should have some basic functionality if the OS drivers are installed, but its best to keep up with those driver versions IMHO. Dom i hope your SSD is not a Samsung Pro and you`ve updated the firmware co`s it will brick your system, i`ve just RMA my one after the same thing happened 10 days ago. Rick Your OS, inc Win 7 and Win 8.1 should and could detect the proper SATA drivers, but I'd not count on it, best to go to your motherboard site and seek out SATA drivers for your OS and proceed from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chumley Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 Firstly, Chumley and Rick there where some well documented problems with OCZ SSD's and recent Samsung 840's, not all the drives under the Samsung SSD banner, my Samsing 850 is fine, even my 1TB 840 is fine after the initial fix, it does not effect them all, bad karma I know though for those wanting to switch to SSD's, these company's have a lot to answer for and as I understand OCZ are practically bankrupt because of it, does it mean the end of SSD's ... of course not. Please lets not go on tangents, diagnosing PC problems on forums is always difficult without lots of wild or not so wild idea's thrown in too. But onto the OP's question. It seems to me nobody has asked if he has installed all the latest chipset drivers for his motherboard not to mention the latest ones that rarely ship with a motherboard on the CD, the SATA ones these days are very important, make sure you are hooked up to Intel or Asmedia or whatever for SATA (I'd use the Intel ports) and have appropriate drivers for each or whatever you choose and that everything is configured in the BIOS properly ... if in doubt, dont hesitate to ask, getting an up to date BIOS version can be important too, but rarely this can cause more problems than its worth, if a motherboard ships it should have some basic functionality if the OS drivers are installed, but its best to keep up with those driver versions IMHO. Your OS, inc Win 7 and Win 8.1 should and could detect the proper SATA drivers, but I'd not count on it, best to go to your motherboard site and seek out SATA drivers for your OS and proceed from there. Amazing. Does the term Pot Kettle Black resonate? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldAirmail Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 During this time I changed ALL of my PC components: New power supply unit, new mainboard, new CPU, new HDD, new SSD, new graphic card, new RAM, new PC case, I even changed the house where the PC is located! Basically, you're saying that you've replaced the entire computer. That only leaves one culprit - the OS and the files (viruses?) that you put in to your system each time you replace the drives. Have you reformatted & re-installed the OS? The only other thing that I can think of is the power supplied to your houses. If they're in the same neighborhood, that whole area may have a problem. Unlikely but possible, depending on where in the world you live. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SniperTNT Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 Reseating your CMOS battery might benefit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldAirmail Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 Maybe, but, according to him, he's had two different motherboards. Both with the same problem??? Not likely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeJay Posted March 16, 2015 Author Share Posted March 16, 2015 First, thank you for all these advices!! I can exclude a loose connection, as I've checked that so many times and the HDD never had problems of this kind whereas every other SATA device does have problems. Maybe, but, according to him, he's had two different motherboards. Both with the same problem??? Not likely. If I remember correctly, yes! During this time I changed ALL of my PC components: New power supply unit, new mainboard, new CPU, new HDD, new SSD, new graphic card, new RAM, new PC case, I even changed the house where the PC is located! Basically, you're saying that you've replaced the entire computer. That only leaves one culprit - the OS and the files (viruses?) that you put in to your system each time you replace the drives. Have you reformatted & re-installed the OS? The only other thing that I can think of is the power supplied to your houses. If they're in the same neighborhood, that whole area may have a problem. Unlikely but possible, depending on where in the world you live. It's a different village. And the electric System in both of the houses is not too old, app. 20-25 years. Certainly not an age you would assume any electrical problems. I'd rather assume a malfunction of the power supply unit caused by switching the power knob off and on every night to save electricity which is of course quite expensive here. Possible?? And yes, I have reformatted and reinstalled Windows after the motherboard change.. I've installed new drivers for the chipset. After that Windows didn't even start until I removed the SSD. Now it's running as good as before installing the SSD. Also, the DVD drive is running well (at te moment). Anyway, I still don't think the SSD itself is the problem (even if I can't be sure), because so many other SATA deveices had the same Problem. Next thing I'm gonna try is a BIOS update. Then maybe a new power suppy unit (again).. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick66 Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 Just read your PSU in your Signature, so the Nvidia Spec`s say Minimum power required is 500watts for the GTX970, your running 2 Disk Drives, 1 SSD and 1 HDD + DVD drive, you have an i5 3570, my guess is you need more than 600 watts for your system. with other peripherals like usb joystick etc and Monitor maybe your psu is struggling. my 2cents Rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest M31 Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 Amazing. Does the term Pot Kettle Black resonate? And your answer to the guys problem was this ... "I have an OCZ SSD on which the OS is installed. Periodically on booting I will get a message that there is a corrupt boot file or it cannot be found (or something to that effect). To correct the problem I simply disconnect the drive and firmly reconnect it making sure everything is seated and up till now that has worked. When I first got the drive I loaded some files and soon after it stopped working. No matter what I did I couldn't get the thing to stay connected. It was RMA and replaced as it was faulty. This may be your problem." I mean really??? You make some assumptions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest M31 Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 This is a strange one, two houses, two motherboards the OP thinks? If I remember correctly, yes! This is a difficult one. I changed ALL of my PC components: New power supply unit, new mainboard, new CPU, new HDD, new SSD, new graphic card, new RAM, new PC case, ...I even changed the house where the PC is located! And still this Problem exists! You have to hand it to him, he's been thorough with changing house too, this is one for the experts here, good luck with it Changing house was probably on the cards already, but changing case as a fix for this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldAirmail Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 Oh, changing the case was probably just a whim. I got tired of my old case about 8 or 9 years ago too. It didn't have anything to do with how my system was operating. Rick66 has a good point though, that power supply is marginal. Definitely replace it. On top of that, don't be too sure about your power grid. I used to live on the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia. The community was a little old, and brown outs (low voltage) weren't uncommon. So I had an APC Power Backup with a surge protector built in. The weather over the bay can be spectacular, Not to mention the thunderstorms, and lightning strikes. The point being that I had TWO power surge protectors between the wall outlet and the power backup. Both were replaced at one time or the other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsapair Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 That makes no logical sense whatsoever, as I'm sure you know. I think you're just jinxed with a bad case of the Gremlins. They have been known to follow folks around. Do you see a black cloud hovering over your house by any chance? Just curious. Kidding aside, I'd go with a quality 1,000 W PSU and eliminate anything 'marginal'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest M31 Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 Yup I'd agree next move is to replace the PSU, or maybe move to another continent Sorry, but the thread is a bit unintentionally funny it does not need to be a 1000 watt one unless you really need that capacity or think you will grow into it, the key word for PSU's is quality not quantity. A quality reliable PSU is at the foundation of every build I do, Corsair used to be kings here but those were re-badged models from Seasonic and Corsair have cut corners in this area in the last couple of years it seems so be careful as I'm not sure who they use anymore? They certainly do not build their own PSU's, Seasonic are very very good ... BTW on my latests I7 5960X build I went looking for a good Seasonic PSU but settled on a Superflower 1000 watt for my needs, cant remember off hand who actually manufactures these but when I researched it, it was near the top ten for quality ... I dont need that 1000 watt yet but I might if I go SLI again, so a bit of future proofing there for me ... Enermax I highly recommend too. Assuming the PSU is good though it simply must be down to motherboard chip-set drivers, esp SATA ones for both Intel and third party ports that most modern boards have, also if the downloaded drivers are zip or rar format dont be tempted to run them from that, make a folder and extract to there first before running them as an admin, reboot between each driver install check and proceed with next driver for best results. I'm quite sure this is one of those instances where if we were there we'd solve the problems in minutes. Good luck OP I think you'll need it Hope you get it sorted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeJay Posted March 17, 2015 Author Share Posted March 17, 2015 I'm not surprised this thread is unintentionally funny. Some of my frieds already laugh at me because of the bad luck I've had with my PC for all this time which really nobody could explain so far (and no, I NEVER visited dirty websites as all of them might think !!!^^) So, I've updated the drivers of my chipset, and after that Windows 7 didn't even launch until I completely disconnected the SSD. Maybe a step backwards unfortunately... OK, so I guess a stronger psu will be the next step. I still wonder why exactly the harddrives are the first thinks that don't work with it as they probably need the least power of most of the components. But anyway... I've stopped "understanding" PC's meanwhile. :-p Thanks again for your great efforts on the problem! I will report back what happens. Oh, and concerning the "external power problem": No, I did NOT change the house BECAUSE of the PC (I'm still sure this is not a problem in any house in the neighborhood). But I will finally move to a newly built house next year!! So this factor should finally be excluded from then. ;-) I hope that house has less problems built in than my current PC :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lawrence aldrich Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 Are you using the same cables each time?? Chenge to all new cables..................shot in the dark ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cthiggin2 Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 I had something very similar happen when I upgraded my PC - mb - ram - cpu - gpu - I finally found the culprit - I had to enable AHCI in Bios and I had to change 2 of my three drives to make AHCI compliant and that did it for me. Sure hope you find the answer....these types of issues can drive you insane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeJay Posted March 17, 2015 Author Share Posted March 17, 2015 Are you using the same cables each time?? Chenge to all new cables Already done! I had something very similar happen when I upgraded my PC - mb - ram - cpu - gpu - I finally found the culprit - I had to enable AHCI in Bios and I had to change 2 of my three drives to make AHCI compliant and that did it for me. Already done! Well, do you think a 750 W psu is finally enough.. Just wondering about the big differences in pricing of PSU's which have the same amount of power Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick66 Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 You need to buy at least a 750watt, you need reserve power, and you will be surprised how much a SSD/HDD uses when your running the pc, I have a Corsair PSU and running link software which monitors power use, sometimes my 3 SSD`s and 1 HDD use 150 watts combined, then i have 4 120mm case fans and a dedicated Ram cooling fan and 2 fans on top of that for water cooling. little things add up. Rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeJay Posted March 17, 2015 Author Share Posted March 17, 2015 Wow, didn't think so!! I guess it's safer to buy 850 Watt then. Maybe this one?? https://www.alternate.de/XFX/PRO850W-Netzteil/html/product/691360?event=search My CPU isn't even overclocked, but that's on the to-do-list when everything else is working. Got a new cooler ready in the parcel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeJay Posted March 22, 2015 Author Share Posted March 22, 2015 OK folks, I've now spent another 130 bucks for a new psu, and it seems that I finally got things under control! Upgrade from 550W to 850W and all the components of my PC now have been working fine for half a day! So, it really seemed to be the lack of electrical power in the past! I hope it keeps working for some time now! Thanks again for all the very good advices and for your effort in solving the problem!! Cheers, Dominik Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stewart Hobson Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 Great news! Congratulations on finally solving the problem. Stew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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